Tiger 12 News Post

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The Masters Demo Available Now, Post Impressions Here

06:45 AM - March 8, 2011 by Steve_OS

The Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The Masters demo is available now for the Xbox 360.

UPDATE: The PS3 demo will not arrive until tomorrow at 6:00 PM EST.

UPDATE #2: Contrary to what the facebook page states, the demo is now available on the PS3. Enjoy.

Please post your impressions here.

Quote:


	"The long awaited Augusta National Golf Club is now available in the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR� 12: The Masters demo on Xbox� 360 and PlayStation� 3! Approach the tee box of the famous closing hole during the tournament�s final round in your quest to become the Masters champion and don the Green Jacket. In the �Play Now� setting, live that **** moment and have the first opportunity to play Augusta National�s par-4 18th. See the distinct Masters experience and hear the iconic voice of long-time Masters announcer, Jim Nantz, throughout the demo. Nantz sets the stage as Tiger Woods charges up the leaderboard in chase of his fifth Green Jacket. Take control of Tiger Woods on the final hole and attempt to be crowned Masters champion, while the all-new commentary team of Nantz, and the always entertaining David Feherty, call the action. In �Road to the Masters� mode, play holes 1-5 at TPC San Antonio Oaks Course - an all-new course to the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR franchise. Complete the five holes in the demo and jumpstart your career in the full retail version* by bypassing the EA SPORTS� Amateur Tour and proceeding straight to the Nationwide Tour. The PlayStation 3 version of the demo will support the PlayStation Move controller to fully replicate an authentic golf swing. Looking for an even more immersive golf interaction? The demo can also be played in True View mode � a first-person vantage point that is new to the PlayStation 3 with the Move controller. Additional information about the Masters Tournament, the all-new career mode, Caddie/Course Mastery, new golfers and courses, and a host of other new features are detailed in the demo. Share the demo with friends to earn additional experience points (XP)."

Source - Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The Masters Blog

Game: Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The MastersReader Score: 7/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Wii / Xbox 360Votes for game: 15 - View All

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The Masters Videos

Member Comments

# 21 Cvhsalumni @ 03/08/11 10:48 PM

PS3: Game looks amazing. Still frustrated at little things like pin placements on slopes, having to club up 3-4 clubs in a fairway bunker. I was hoping those would be fixed. I haven't hit out of the rough yet but I am sure it is going to be the same problem where you hit a 5 iron 120 yards just because you are in rough.

Can't get over how good the game looks. Excited for the new career mode. Still crossing fingers for multiplayer career mode!

# 22 Rules @ 03/08/11 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rasco11


	Nice! Found PS3 demo by searching for it! I'm anxious (as I'm sure some others are too) to hear of Move impressions specifically as I'm thinking of buying the Move just for this game, if it translates well!

My Move will be waiting for me when I get off work tomorrow. I will let you know once I take it thru the paces.

# 23 Bighoff @ 03/08/11 11:44 PM

Played San Antonio hole a few time with the Move, I really enjoy it. I can't wait for the retail version so I can see exactly how to do everything but for a demo it's pretty cool. The reactions on screen from the Move seem right in time and the opening and closing of the club head seems right in time as well, now I just got to figure out how to swing with 100% power things will be heading in the right direction. This was a 1st day buy for me and playing the demo just cemented my choice even more I cant wait for the 29th so I can suck at golf both at the course and on the PS3.

# 24 Uncle Stumpy @ 03/08/11 11:51 PM

I'm impressed. The presentation was phenomenal, but I don't expect it to be as goodas that in the regular game. If money was not a factor, it would be a first day purchase. Unfortunately it is, I can only afford one game for now. It's either this or The Show

I think im leaning towards Tiger because i really enjoy the online tourneys

# 25 geomorphologist @ 03/09/11 12:56 AM

Can I play the demo with the ps move ?

# 26 Bighoff @ 03/09/11 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geomorphologist


	Can I play the demo with the ps move ?

Yes you can

# 27 rolltide1017 @ 03/09/11 10:23 AM

In last years game, could you use true-aim for all your pre shot stuff but have the camera switch to the presentation cam once you hit the ball? I didn't buy last years version so, I'm not that familiar with true-aim. Loved how it felt in the demo and loved not having any aiming tools, makes it much more realistic but, I've always liked the presentation cam once the ball is hit. Just gives it that TV feel.

Unfortunately, I agree with Seymour, the caddie feature is horrible. I don't mind these type of dumbing down options being in the game but, to also apply them to the higher difficulty settings in the game just defeats the whole point of the higher difficulty. I hope the caddie feature is just forced on us for the demo and that you can completely remove him in the full game. If not then I will be taking another break from the TW series after this year. I'm almost to the point that I think EA needs to clean house with the Tiger team, they obviously do not understand the game of golf.

This is not how a caddie works in real life. In real life the golfer and caddie are a team, discussing each option together, not relying on a all knowing caddie to pin point the exact spot the ball is going to go. It works very similar to the way my dad and I interact when playing golf. My dad will give me suggestions on aiming spots and which club to use but I may decided to go a completely different route. My dad dose not know exactly where my ball will land if I swing with this percentage of my club. Now, a caddie and pro golfer are much more knowledgeable about the course but, the concept is the same. The game takes it too far, the caddie is doing all the work for you and that is just not realistic at all.

# 28 globalbeats7 @ 03/09/11 10:47 AM

and we arrive at the problem.....EA. they have absolutely no idea how to give us new features and additions without making it gimmicky. its all bells and whistles, but no substance. still, the true aim camera is terrible. the addition of the caddie should make true aim even better....but it doesnt. the caddie should tell you something like, "you got 150yds to the front left bunker and back edge of the green is 190yds. slope is left to right." this would be sufficient. we would know then we need to hit it about 165 a little left of the flag. instead, you pretty much get told what to do and ur forced to just swing at the % mark. thats ridiculous. it doesnt feel like a caddie...feels like a swing coach whos telling you to do this and that taking most of course management skills away from you. hopefully we can turn the caddie off and true aim will still show markers only. presentation is improved, THANK GOODNESS. i mean, it couldnt get any worse IMO. its 2011 EA, golf isnt a game where you have 22 players running around a football with so many things going on, blocking, hitting, running, passing, catching, defensive reactions, kicking, etc etc....this is a simple game where its ONE PLAYER, ONE BALL, and the course. it really shouldnt be that hard to impliment a solid gameplay. heck, Links did it a decade ago!!!!!!

# 29 globalbeats7 @ 03/09/11 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rolltide1017


	In last years game, could you use true-aim for all your pre shot stuff but have the camera switch to the presentation cam once you hit the ball?

nope. the camera stayed in the same spot behind the golfer. it did pan in very slightly but not enough to know where your ball went most of the time.

# 30 NorrinRadd12 @ 03/09/11 11:44 AM

Agree with Seymour, I think they blew it. Caddie would have been a nice feature to replace the green grid but that's about it. All the game really needed was follow cam for True-Aim and more sensitive results when you flick the stick.

# 31 callmetaternuts @ 03/09/11 11:47 AM

I played a little on the demo (PS3) yesterday. I haven't bought a TW game in 3 years so some of this is new, but overall I enjoyed it.

The caddie feature isn't what I expected, oh well.

What does True Aim do? Trying to figure out the different options.

# 32 fsufan4423 @ 03/09/11 01:10 PM

Wow! I'd never thought I would see the day when someone was showing this kind of passion in this forum. I thought the demo played great from the golfing aspect. Every game had some gimmick you have to deal with.

I'll probably get the game just for the over all visuals and the fact it actually presents a challenge.

# 33 fishepa @ 03/09/11 01:10 PM

Great...and I fully expected this too.

# 34 wildinkc @ 03/09/11 02:11 PM

I am loving this demo. It will probably be a first day buy for me.

# 35 rolltide1017 @ 03/09/11 04:33 PM

You know what scares me. With Augusta in the game, this will probably be one of the better selling years for the game and EA will take that as an overall approval of the dumbing down caddie system. It will take years to get tournament difficulty back to they way it should be. It took them 5 years to implement a decent sim difficulty level (I consider '10 to be the first decent attempt) but only 2 years to dumb it down, great job EA.

I have another question about the demo: didn't the description say something about skipping to the Nationwide tour when you complete the 5 hole challenge? Well, I've completed it a few times while also wininng it but all I ever get is an invite to the EA AM Tour so, how do you skip to the NW Tour?

# 36 pskepsilon @ 03/09/11 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seymour Scagnetti


	ARGHHH, the dev said you can disable caddie option by pressing O (which I already figured out so it sounds like you can't turn it totally off) with the PS3 version but you still have the caddie recommended shot staring at you in the middle of the screen beside your custom shot so it's pretty hard not to be influenced by his recommendation. **** fail. There are alot of pissed off sim gamers on the EA boards right now about this arcadey debacle of a a game and how they totally screwed up true aim and tourney difficulty and making it appealing to 6 years olds.

I think there's a decent chance that you'll be able to completely disable the caddy in the full game; it's pretty obvious that this demo was constructed heavily to highlight the new features. Considering the effort they went to implement that heavily scripted "Road to the Masters" playable vignette, I think it's fair to assume that this demo was a specifically constructed executable, probably based on older code, even more so than most demos are.

They probably should have anticipated this kind of backlash, but on some level, how much customizability do you normally expect from a demo? I was actually surprised that they pretty much gave you unfettered access to the menus at all. But I don't think it's fair to assume with 100% certainty that those menus are either complete or fully functional. I think the flaming should probably wait until retail copies are played.

# 37 DivotMaker @ 03/09/11 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seymour Scagnetti


	I see nothing in TW12 options to turn off the caddie and the way every screen begins with looking over the caddie's shoulder that looks like something that's hard coded in the game so there's no way of turning it off. How can you not have this as an option to turn off? Unbelievable.

The Caddy will be able to be turned off in the full version.

Again, why you sit here and bitch and moan about the game when you don't even have EA's attention here? You are wasting your time posting your comments here (no offense Steve) if you truly want to get the Devs attention. Many others posting on the EA TW forums are expressing the same criticisms and they at least have the Devs attention. You don't here.

# 38 DivotMaker @ 03/09/11 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rolltide1017


	You know what scares me. With Augusta in the game, this will probably be one of the better selling years for the game and EA will take that as an overall approval of the dumbing down caddie system.

Hardly....they are getting hammered on the EA Tiger forums for including the caddy and the idiotic rumble feature into Tournament mode and rightfully so.

# 39 DivotMaker @ 03/09/11 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seymour Scagnetti


	Played the demo once more on tourney mode and just realized that not only do they not give you the pin distance but they don't even give you the green elevation like last year in true aim. They don't want you thinking about anything when you're on the hardest skill level. Even if you're able to totally turn off the caddie (which I doubt) the lack of pin distance and elevation is glaring and makes it pure arcade.

Ironically, I find the lack of distance and elevation to be more challenging. TW Online does this as well in its Expert Aiming mode and it does not take long at all to figure out the elevations as well as club distances. I also like the lack of aiming arrow when zooming to the landing area because it is more realistic. Not sure how you consider the above features making the game more "arcade" when actually it is the exact opposite (assuming the Caddy is off).

# 40 acreyman @ 03/09/11 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seymour Scagnetti


	Wow I guess I'm the only one that's pretty pissed right now with the demo and that fact you can't turn off the caddie option altogether because I think it just ruined the game for me. The main reason being they ruined the true aim mode with this caddie thing. It turned everything into just stick swinging with no user input into managing the course and judging carrying distances. In other words they dumbed it down even on tourney difficulty. They don't give you flagstick distances and even worse thay don't give your golfer the yardage carry distances for his clubs. All you get are %'s of what the optimal shot should be. I don't even know if the % the caddie gives me is the carrying distance or is where the ball is supposed to stop rolling. For example you have a couple of vague markers as to what the distance is on approach shots to the green but you can't compare it to your club distance because they are not made available for you to see. All you're given is a % of a certain club you should swing. (EG:65% of your 6 iron recommended by the caddie). You have no idea how much 65% fo your 6 iron is in distance because they don't provide the full distance or carry distance of your 6 iron. The only way around it I guess would be to write it down on a piece of paper from the club tuner screen but then your distance always changes as you apply XP points and who wants to always have to rely on finding that paper when you play. That kills all the fun of true aim and all you do is follow the caddie's shot selection and it becomes incredibly boring. You can customize your shot but in some instances it was noticebly off from what the caddie suggested even though I customized the exact same shot. And it's a crapshoot anyways because you don't have the club distances readlily available to you. I thought that this option could be turned off but the only thing that you can disable seems to be his voice. As a result they totally overhauled true aim and killed the fun of it and any strategy the user has in judging distances. Even when you move the LS upwards to see the layout of the course it moves to where your ball is supposed to end up almost instantaneously so you really have no good overview of the hole itself. So any trees that might be in the way are hard to see and you simply go by what the caddie tells you and for the 18th hole at Augusta it didn't work very well because he said I could lay up or try and fade it around the trees with my driver and I hit the shot perfectly with the fade he wanted but still ended up in the trees based on the aim he suggested. For Pebble Beach that's gonna be a nightmare. It kills all the fun out of par 3's because you know whatever the cadidie tells you is the right shot so it simply becomes a game of whether you can nail the right % of what he tells you to hit. It takes all the strategy out of deciding whether to go up or down a club or using some backspin or topspin on your tee shot. It just becomes a mundane exercise of hitting the % he wants. This is a major gamekiller for sim users. I can't believe they dumbed it down like this. The caddie does all the thinking for you and that was half the fun of playing true aim, well at least to anyone over 14. It's like playing God Of War and having a character in the game solving all the puzzles for you. EA is at it again. They have no concept as to why gamers loved true aim amd made it pointless. First they ruined FN Champion and now this.

Your not the only one that feels this way.....I am holding out hope that the retail version is different than the demo. But I feel the exact same way you do now that I have played the demo more.

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